Vehicle interior claddings with integrated airbag covers are known in the art. In these known solutions, the airbag cover is defined as a partially circumferential rupture line that extends more deeply into the vehicle interior cladding. When the airbag is deployed, the airbag cover is torn open at the rupture lines, causing the airbag cover to pivot around a defined hinge axis and form an airbag through opening in the cladding section, so that the airbag can deploy in the desired way and exert its protective effect. However, the more deeply incorporated rupture lines or perforations can produce imprints on the visible surface of the vehicle interior cladding, which often negatively impact the integrity and quality of the vehicle interior cladding.
Another disadvantage to such airbag covers is that the hinged area is exposed to an extremely high pressure, tensile or bending stresses during airbag deployment, resulting in the danger that the airbag cover fails to open as envisaged during this deployment or becomes damaged. This makes it necessary to reinforce a large area of the hinged area provided between the vehicle interior cladding and airbag cover. However, this additionally required reinforcement leads to increased product costs and additional weight, which is undesired, in particular since this further increases the mass of the airbag cover as well, in turn having a negative influence on the airbag deployment.
The airbag cover or flap can further be deflected to such an extent and exhibit such a level of accelerated inertia force during airbag deployment as to potentially damage the windshield. In addition, this can damage the airbag itself, which in the most extreme of cases can cause the safety system to fail.
Known from DE 102 03 407 is an airbag cover with preformed weakening structures, which hare held together by a fabric structure on a plastic carrier. Further known from DE 101 17 938 is an interior cladding section in which an airbag cover is flatly arranged over an airbag. When the correspondingly arranged gas generator is actuated, the gas flows through the provided openings in the airbag, and lifts the airbag cover from below, accompanied by a bulging and tearing of rupture lines away from the vehicle interior cladding.
At least one object of the invention is to further develop a vehicle interior cladding of the kind mentioned at the outset in such a way as to make the process of assembling the vehicle interior cladding as simple, weight-economizing, cost-effective and functionally optimized as possible, wherein the multiple sections comprising the vehicle interior cladding are to be used to form a rupture line on the airbag cover. In addition, it is other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.